The Suit.

From Lincoln to Kennedy, the suit has been an important part of men’s culture. The purpose of a suit is to represent sophistication, poise, and maturity. It is for this reason a man should have at least one suit in his closet. However, not any old suit can represent the look that I mentioned. It is important that the suit does not fit loosely because it would give you the dreaded boxy look. Instead, the silhouette of a suit is supposed to be slim-fitted with a suppressed waist, thus giving you a look of elegance. It is also important that the pants of the suit are slim fit and the break rests on top of the shoe, avoiding an unwanted baggy look.

The suppressed waist of a suit is measured by its drop–the reduction in the number of inches between the size of a suit coat and the size of the trousers that come with it—and the height of the arm hole. A much tapered suit (overall fit) will be a drop 7, while an extraordinarily tapered suit, which is also the most expensive, will be a drop 8, assuming that the suit fits you.

When buying a wool suit, you must know several things.

• Most common high-end wool suits cost more than $4000 because you are paying for the quality and the name, which is an important thing to note when looking for a long-lasting suit.
• Super 100 & 120 wool suits are capable of being worn every week. They are made of good quality fabric, soft to the touch, and are more durable than more luxurious thread counts.
• Super 150 wool suits are recommended for men who do not wear suits often because they have very soft fabric, which affects the durability—you might only get about 20 wears from it before the suit starts to deteriorate at the crotch and arm holes. It is for this reason you have to be aware of the relationship of the life of the fabric and what you are paying to how many wears you are going to get out of it.

It is also important to note the two types of suits, one made with canvas and one that is fused. A suit that is fused—glued together, will not drape the same way that a suit made with canvas would because fused suits would not have the hand-crafted work as canvas suits. In addition, fused suits would begin to develop bubbles after taking it to the dry cleaners a few times because the chemicals used would make the glue lax.

If you are looking for a good suit on a budget, I recommend Brooks Brothers, their suits are well constructed and do the trick. However, if you are feeling a bit bold, then I recommend Canali. Although these suits cost between $1500 and $1800, they are generally constructed with canvas. However, they do lack the handwork a more expensive suit such as a Brioni would have.